Untitled
by riparian
Summary: (AU BMWW) Diana, heir to the throne of Themiscyra, has chosen to study at prestigious Gotham State abroad in order to round out her education before assuming duties of the crown. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham to begin his journey to end crime in his hometown. How will their paths intersect? Read on to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Lightning shook the sky, almost immediately followed by a boom of thunder. The rain poured down in torrential streams as Diana Prince weaved her way through the busy intersection, hopelessly holding a binder over her head in an futile effort to keep dry. If only she had remembered her umbrella! _Oh well_, she thought. _Just a little further until I make it into my classroom_. Diana shuffled through the crowd, muttering quiet "excuse mes" as she balanced her books and sighed in relief as she finally opened the door to the warm, dry classroom.

"Ms. Prince, you are late," a stern voice greeted her.

"Yes, sorry, Dr. Luitina," Diana responded, who quickly sat down and attempted to smooth out her clothes and manage her books. "This storm caused a crash on the highway, which delayed my bus here."

"Very well, Diana. Glad to see you made it here safely," Dr. Luitina said slightly more gently. "We were just about to discuss last night's reading about the functions of the brain. Would you like to start with your notes on the matter?"

Diana opened her folder, the familiar black and gold logo emblazoned on front reassuring her a little bit. _Gotham State University, est. 1898_.

"Gladly, Professor," she smiled.

_Elsewhere in Gotham…._

"Have you heard, Clay?" the man said to the other, in line at a coffee shop. "Wayne's back in town. Rumor has it he's planning to take reigns of the company again in the next few years."

The other man spluttered as he grabbed his coffee from the counter. "Phil, you idiot. Wayne? Wayne's been dead for, what, ten, twelve years now? Have you been drinking…" Clay's eyes widened in surprise as he processed what his friend was saying. "Why… you don't mean, Bruce? Last I heard he was boozing it up in Thailand and had no intentions of ever coming back to America, let alone Gotham."

"It's true! I saw some pictures of him clubbing at that place downtown, y'know, the Iceberg Lounge or whatever it's called. He was with St. Cloud's little girl, well, not so little now, if y'know what I mean… Silver's her name, I think. Right in the Gotham Gazette, too. Janie showed me the pictures during breakfast today."

"You don't say?" Clay sipped his coffee as he thought about that for a moment. "Hmm, well until I see a more legitimate source about his business aspirations, I'll leave him to party it up. God knows he deserves it."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," said Phil, picking up his own coffee from the barista. "Well, how about the Rogues last night, eh? Those Meteors didn't have a chance."

"You got that right. It's like they weren't even trying." The men continued their conversation, focusing on sports and the weather and soon all but forgetting the supposed arrival of one very important Gothamite.

A/N: I've been lurking on this site for a while and have really been enjoying reading great fics. Thought I would give writing a shot – here goes, a little teaser of what's to come! Please tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own.

**Chapter 2**

The sun had just started to peek out of the gloomy clouds when Diana made her way out of class. Despite the pale warmth the sun cast when it hit Diana's face, she tightened her coat around her as she carefully stepped to avoid the large puddles that had formed in the storm. The weather was one thing she particularly didn't enjoy about Gotham; Diana wistfully remembered the weather the day she had left Themyscira - sunny, warm, and mild, about average as any day of the year. _Themyscira_, she thought to herself. Though she had only been away from home for three months now, the word seemed a tiny bit more foreign to her now. Diana absentmindedly fiddled with the necklace she wore around her neck, the simple, yet elegant piece of jewelry showcasing a sun and connected smaller stars around it. Her mother gave it to her the day she left – _I love you, my little sun and stars_ – and Diana had worn it every day since.

That reminder, in addition to the dismal weather Gotham had been experiencing all week, made Diana suddenly wistful as she walked through campus. She idly thought of her beloved sisters, her beautiful horse, the view of the ocean from her window at home… and her heart ached. But she knew she made the choice to come here, specifically this city. And, upon further reflection, she was glad she did – her idyllic, yet tightly controlled life in Themyscira seemed almost dull in comparison to her life at university now. The things she had seen, the new foods she had tried, the friends she had made… Diana smiled, suddenly feeling a little bit less homesick. Speaking of friends…

"Etta!" she shouted, glimpsing her blonde friend across the quad. Etta turned toward the sound of her name, and her brilliant smile widened when she saw Diana.

"Diana, come here," Etta yelled back. Diana obliged and quickly met up with Etta, who was standing another girl. Diana smiled at Etta's dark-haired friend, whom she didn't recognize. "God, you look cute today. When I got to class after walking in the rain I looked like a drenched rat. Anyway, I was just about to grab lunch with this lovely lady. Care to join us?"

"Well, I…" Diana began. "Great!" Etta grinned, and Diana dismissed her plans of heading home early. She missed Etta, anyway.

Etta continued, "We're thinking about hitting up the café that just opened on 45th. Have you seen it? I think it's called Café Montalvo. I saw a line out the door the other day, I heard they have excellent chocolate croissants and you know how I _love_ chocolate croissants."

"I was there last Wednesday and their iced mochas are divine. You know, not too sweet, but not like too bitter like some coffee can be? And just the right amount of chocolate," the girl to Etta's left said. "I'm Zatanna, by the way," extending her hand to Diana. "Feel free to call me Z, though."

She was very pretty, Diana noticed, wearing a long stylish navy coat and sheer leggings that extended into black boots. "I'm Diana, so nice to meet you. What's this drink you were talking about? I don't ever think I've tried an iced mocha."

Both Etta and Zatanna's jaws dropped. Etta exclaimed, "Di, you haven't had an _iced mocha_ before? I know you're relatively new to the country and all, but come _on_. Let's get to Café Montalvo before the line gets long for the lunch rush."

Diana couldn't help but smile, thankful for old and new friends who were eager to help her experience all this old city had to offer. The trio set off towards the café, easily conversing with each other about the day.

* * *

_An hour later_… .

"Mmm," Diana sighed as she finished the remnants of her iced mocha. "That was heavenly." Her eyes roamed to the line at the front of the café, starting to die down a bit now that the lunch craze had subsided.

"Wasn't it?" Zatanna grinned. "I'm kind of thinking you want another one, yes?"

Diana blushed, embarrassed she had been caught staring at the line. She stood from her place at the table and stretched. "Hmm… another wouldn't hurt, would it? You ladies want me to pick anything else up for you while I'm in line?"

"I'm good, thanks. I actually have a class in fifteen, so I should head back to campus. Integral calculus. Ugh," Zatanna harrumphed, standing and collecting her things.

Diana winced at the sound of that. Diana loved learning, and was thrilled with the wide variety of courses that GSU had to offer, but math had unfortunately never been one of her strong suits. She much preferred her courses about international justice or women's studies.

Etta stood and stretched as well. "I'm going to head out too, organic chemistry is kicking my ass and I should probably go to a tutoring session. Gotta beat out all the other nerds who are pre-med."

Diana chuckled. "All right, all right. I guess I'll try not to miss you guys too much. In that case I'll just study and wait until the line is a bit shorter for my mocha."

"All right, Di," both girls chirruped. After byes and hugs were exchanged, Diana sat down and opened her three-inch thick book on international justice. Twenty minutes later, however, her attention had strayed because of how many people were coming in and out of the cafe. _Might as well people-watch_, giggling to herself at the term Etta had told her. Apparently in America it was socially acceptable to subtly watch people and make up their life stories. Diana smiled at the thought. Americans were strange indeed, but Diana figured if there was a place to people watch, it would be this café in Gotham.

An older man, tall but almost gangly, was in line. A worn Gotham Rogues cap covered his head, which did little to tame the look of his long, grayish hair and thick beard. He wore an oversized tan coat that seemed like it had seen better days, as well as a pair of sweats and dark boots. He carried a large tote bag that seemed to have all of his belongings. Diana started to wonder about his life story. _How did he end up here? What led to his homelessness? _Diana had known about income inequality in Gotham; in fact, it had been one of the reasons she decided to study here. _Does he have a family, a wife? What has he eaten today, if anything?_

She heard him ask for a cup of water. The fresh-faced barista at the counter nodded hesitantly initially but gave him a friendly smile and left the counter briefly to fulfill his request.

Another man entered the café, with a sort of leisurely confidence that caught Diana's attention. He was tall, even taller than the homeless man in line. In contrast to the other man, he was broad-shouldered, and wearing a large, black coat that seemed tailored to his frame. In fact, his entire outfit seemed well-tailored, though Diana couldn't credit the man with variety; the man's slacks and sharp-looking shoes were black as well. _When will Gothamites ever learn to dress with some color_, Diana idly wondered to herself. A much newer-looking Gotham Rogues cap covered a head of thick dark hair. His face was mostly obscured by a pair of large sunglasses and a light cover of stubble, though Diana could tell from his profile that he was probably reasonably handsome, judging by his strong nose and jaw.

The barista returned with a large cup of water, which the first man gratefully accepted and took a sip as he sat down at an empty table.

"Black coffee, dark roast, please," the well-dressed man now told the barista, in a surprisingly deep voice. Then, after a moment, he added, "Make that two coffees. And a ham and cheese sandwich." Diana stifled a giggle at his selection of coffee. She probably could have guessed the guy would buy not one, but two black coffees. He was probably some kind of caffeine-starved businessman who organized his checkbook for fun. Diana let out a small smile at the notion, finding it ridiculous how much effort Americans put in to make money.

"That'll be eight thirty-one, please," the barista at the counter said. Diana watched her prepare the coffees and sandwich. She thought she recognized the girl from one of her classes, but wasn't sure. _Megan, is it? Or Melanie? _Diana watched as the man give the barista a crisp twenty before taking the two coffees and sandwich and quickly turning to exit, leaving Megan or Melanie speechless for a moment with the unexpectedly large tip. "Thank you so much, sir," the barista excitedly yelled, but the businessman didn't hear or pretended not to.

He now tapped the man from earlier on the shoulder, who was just finishing his cup of water. "I noticed you were a Rogues fan," the businessman said while gently setting down the sandwich and coffee on the old man's table. "Couldn't pass up a chance to treat a man with good taste. Enjoy your day," he continued smoothly. The old man could only respond with a shocked _thank you_ before the businessman quickly made his way out of the café, not looking back.

Diana turned around fully in her chair now to watch him leave. The man walked further down the street before turning and disappearing from Diana's line of vision. Diana couldn't help but smile at the way the man had made two peoples' days, yet was confused by his brusque manner and why he didn't even stop to listen to the man or barista respond. He hadn't seemed in much of a hurry when he was waiting in line. _Perhaps he was in too much of a rush_, _getting back to his checkbooks, _Diana surmised. She smiled, intrigued by the small mystery, but soon forgot about it, opened her textbook and got back to work.

* * *

A/N:

One guess who the mysterious businessman is? :P

Now, an apology: I still can't think of a title for this, and yes, the "Untitled" aspect bothers me as much as it probably bothers you. Hoping for inspiration of the title to hit me before I publish the next chapter.

Thank you to all those that took time to leave a review – your words of encouragement are really great! And those who favorited or followed, or heck even viewed, I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate it as well. Please leave a review to let me know what you think so far; it really motivates me and gives me a sense of how I'm doing!


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